Austrian Death Machine is an American

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

side project from

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, founded by

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...

vocalist

Tim Lambesis Timothy Peter Lambesis (born November 21, 1980) is an American musician and producer, best known as the founding member and lead vocalist of American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. He also had a solo/side thrash metal project in tribute to ac ...

to be a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of and tribute to Arnold Schwarzenegger's films.

Biography

Austrian Death Machine released their first album '' Total Brutal'' on July 22, 2008. The album was dedicated to Caleb Crain on May 14, 2008, for his birthday that was two months before the scheduled release date. A few months later they released a Christmas-themed EP, ''A Very Brutal Christmas''. After some tour support of ''Total Brutal'', Lambesis went back on tour with As I Lay Dying. While on tour he posted on Austrian Death Machine's MySpace blog that he had ideas to follow up ''Total Brutal'' with a double-disc, ''

Double Brutal ''Double Brutal'' is the second full-length album by As I Lay Dying vocalist Tim Lambesis' parody project Austrian Death Machine. Unlike the previous album, ''Total Brutal'', ''Double Brutal'' is a two disc effort; the first disc composed of or ...

'', stating that the first disc would be original songs where the second disc would be composed of cover songs. After returning home from tour in early Summer 2009, he went to work on ''Double Brutal'' which was released September 29, 2009. Many in the press have pointed out that a Schwarzenegger movie-themed band concept was already being pursued by ArnoCorps, having been performing live in California and the UK beginning more than seven years prior to Lambesis' effort. Lambesis writes and records all the music playing guitar, bass, and drums as well as the majority of the vocals, leaving

Destroy the Runner Destroy the Runner is an American heavy metal band from San Diego, California, United States. Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying managed them for their album '' Saints'', and did so again with Jason Rudolph for their second album '' I, Lucifer''. ...

vocalist

Chad Ackerman Chad Daniel Ackerman (born November 30, 1983) is a rock singer, songwriter, musician, writer, director, actor, and producer. Ackerman's debut as a singer/songwriter was on November 30, 2012 under the name "A Veil" with an album entitled ''The ...

(portraying "Ahhhnold") to perform Schwarzenegger-like vocals. The only thing Lambesis or Ackerman do not record are the guitar solos in every song which are performed by various guitarists from other bands. Lambesis stated where As I Lay Dying "is heartfelt and full of passion" Austrian Death Machine on the other hand "is an outlet of pure testosterone and stupidity." Despite Lambesis' May 2013 arrest for attempting to hire a hitman to murder his estranged wife, it was announced in 2014, that '' Triple Brutal'' would be released in April on

Artery Recordings Artery Recordings is an American record label based in Sacramento, California founded in 2010 as an imprint of Razor & Tie by Eric Rushing, owner of The Artery Foundation. On August 31, 2017, it was announced that Artery was acquired by Warn ...

. In 2014, Lambesis was sentenced to six years in prison, with 48 days credit for time served.

Members

Main *

– lead vocals, guitar, bass, drums (2008-2014) *

- Schwarzenegger impersonation vocals (2008-2014) *

Josh Robert Thompson Josh Robert Thompson (born March 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, and impressionist. He is best known for his work on ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'', providing the voice of robot skeleton and Craig Ferguson's sidekick Geoff ...

- Schwarzenegger impersonation vocals on ''

'' (2009) * Timothy Benham - Schwarzenegger impersonation vocals on ''Double Brutal'' (2009) * Joe Gaudet - Schwarzenegger impersonation vocals on '' Triple Brutal'' (2014) Live lineup * Tim Lambesis – lead vocals (2008–present) * Justin Olszewski - Schwarzenegger impersonation vocals (2009-2014) * Emil Werstler (of

Dååth Dååth is an American heavy metal band from Atlanta. Their music incorporates styles such as death metal, industrial metal, and some traces of gypsy jazz. History Dååth was started by Eyal Levi and Mike Kameron, who had been playing in ...

) - guitar * Josh Gilbert (of

Wovenwar Wovenwar is an American metal band from Southern California, formed in 2013. They released their self-titled debut album in 2014. The band's musical style on the album has been described as hard rock, alternative metal, melodic metalcore and ...

) - bass (2009-2014) * Jon "The Charn" Rice (of Job for a Cowboy) - drums (2009-2014) Former live * JP Gericke (of

Death by Stereo Death by Stereo (also referred to as D.B.S.) is an American hardcore punk band formed in Orange County, California circa 1998 by frontman Efrem Schulz. They are well known for their energetic performances and intricate guitar work. Their name ...

) - guitar * Mark MacDonald (of Mercury Switch) - guitar Session guitar soloists *

Jason Suecof Jason Suecof (born April 3, 1980) is an American record producer, audio engineer and guitarist best known for his work with heavy metal bands such as Trivium, Battlecross, Death Angel, All That Remains, Bury Your Dead, The Black Dahlia Murder ...

of Capharnaum (All releases) * Mark MacDonald of Mercury Switch (All releases) * Dan Fitzgerald (on ''Total Brutal'') *

Adam Dutkiewicz Adam Jonathan Dutkiewicz (born April 4, 1977) is an American musician, recording engineer, songwriter, and music producer, best known as the lead guitarist and backup vocalist from Massachusetts metalcore bands Killswitch Engage, Aftershock, and ...

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel an ...

(on ''Total Brutal'') *

Nick Hipa Samuel Nicholas Hipa (born November 30, 1982) is an American heavy metal guitarist. He has performed with several notable acts. He is the current lead guitarist of Mire, and was the longtime former lead guitarist of As I Lay Dying. Backgroun ...

(on ''Total Brutal'') * Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler of

(on ''Total Brutal'') * Jason Barnes formerly of

Haste the Day Haste the Day was an American metalcore band formed in Carmel, Indiana in 2001 and signed to Solid State Records. Their name is derived from a lyric in the hymn " It Is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford. The band released an EP titled '' T ...

(on ''Total Brutal'') * Andrew Tapley formerly of The Human Abstract (on ''Double Brutal'') * Rusty Cooley of Outworld (on ''Double Brutal'') * Chris Storey formerly of

All Shall Perish All Shall Perish was an American deathcore band from Oakland, California, formed in 2002. The band was signed to Nuclear Blast and have released four full-length albums through the label. Their final album, '' This Is Where It Ends,'' was releas ...

(on ''Double'' & ''Triple Brutal'') * Buz McGrath of

Unearth Unearth is an American metalcore band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 1998, the group has released seven studio albums. History Early career (1998–2002) Unearth was formed by Trevor Phipps, Buz McGrath, Ken Susi, Mike Rudberg, an ...

(on ''Double Brutal'') *

Kris Norris Kris Norris is the former lead guitarist for the heavy metal bands Scar the Martyr, Darkest Hour and the Canadian metalcore band Threat Signal. He is also known for his stints as touring guitarist for God Forbid and Straight Line Stitch. K ...

formerly of Darkest Hour (on ''Double Brutal'') * James "JP" Gericke of

Death By Stereo Death by Stereo (also referred to as D.B.S.) is an American hardcore punk band formed in Orange County, California circa 1998 by frontman Efrem Schulz. They are well known for their energetic performances and intricate guitar work. Their name ...

(all releases) *

Rocky Gray William Rocky Gray (born July 2, 1974) is a drummer and guitarist who has been part of the Arkansas metal scene since the early 1990s. He is best known as a former drummer of the rock band Evanescence from 2003-2007. He is the lead guitarist ...

Living Sacrifice Living Sacrifice is an American Christian metal band formed in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1989. The band has released eight studio albums, out of which the first three were recorded under R.E.X. Records with their original vocalist Darren Johns ...

(on ''Double Brutal'') * Kevin Schwartz formerly of

Pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

(on ''Triple Brutal'') * Wes Hauch formerly of

The Faceless The Faceless are an American technical death metal band from the Encino neighborhood of Los Angeles. They released their debut album, ''Akeldama'', in November 2006, and a follow-up, ''Planetary Duality'', in November 2008. The band's third a ...

(on ''Triple Brutal'') * Dan Palmer (on ''Triple Brutal'') * Doc Coyle of

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(on ''Triple Brutal'') * Sean Swafford (on ''Triple Brutal'') *

Lorenzo Antonucci Sworn Enemy is an American crossover thrash band from New York City. Biography The band formed as "Downfall" and later on as "Mindset", a product of the extremely expansive and influential New York hardcore scene. At its original inception th ...

formerly of

Sworn Enemy Sworn Enemy is an American crossover thrash band from New York City. Biography The band formed as "Downfall" and later on as "Mindset", a product of the extremely expansive and influential New York hardcore scene. At its original inception th ...

(on ''Triple Brutal'') Session drummers and percussionists * Brandon "B-Town" Trahan of

Impending Doom Impending Doom is an American Christian deathcore band from Riverside, California. The group has released six full-length studio albums and are currently a five piece with lead vocalist Brook Reeves as one of the two original remaining member ...

* Mike Catalano formerly of

* Jerad Buckwalter formerly of

* Jeff Gretz of Zao * Christian Bass of

Heaven Shall Burn Heaven Shall Burn are a German extreme metal band from Saalfeld, formed in 1995. The band consists of vocalist Marcus Bischoff, guitarists Maik Weichert and Alexander Dietz, bassist Eric Bischoff and drummer Christian Bass. They are currently s ...

Discography

;Studio albums Extended plays * ''A Very Brutal Christmas'' (2008) * ''Jingle All the Way'' (2011)

References

{{Authority control Thrash metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 2008 Metal Blade Records artists Musical groups from San Diego Comedy rock musical groups Parody musicians American parodists Cultural depictions of Arnold Schwarzenegger